Keep the Car Running
by CherryDarlingxo
Summary: It's a tale as old as time - Jimmy and Cindy don't get along and probably never will. Putting them together for a 17 hour long roadtrip in a race to make it in time for their best friend's to have a baby seemed to be the only solution that Fate could think of to change things. JimmyCindy. Two-shot.
1. Chapter 1

**I hope you all aren't mad that I'm posting this before updating anything else. The epilogue for** _ **Dangerous**_ **is almost finished, and SHOULD be up today/tomorrow as well. I'm sorry for the long wait for everything! I'm doing my best with working through the writer's block. It's killer. Writing shorter stories like these lets me take a break from my usual stuff and clear my mind a little.**

 **This is a TWO shot. The next part is written already, and will be up soon...it honestly just depends on you guys and if you like or not. :) This story is rated M for a reason, but it's not much more explicit than what I usually write.**

 **Hope you all enjoy! Please review!**

 **Keep the Car Running**

"I hope Carl isn't offended that you chose me over him," I said, trying to juggle my phone, plane ticket, and my bags as I got out of the cab.

"Nah, you know how he is. Kids are too messy and crazy for him. You think I want to impose that lifestyle on him if Libby and I croak?" Sheen laughed on the other side of the line. "He can be the cool uncle instead."

"I'm not sure if I like your usage of the word 'croak'," I replied, and he just laughed again.

"Sure hope your flight can make it here before the snow starts. Libby's getting induced in four days and if you're not here for the birth, she might be even more stressed out than she already is," he said, with slight panic in his voice.

California in January was like a dream; sunny and still fairly warm. I didn't mind this kind of weather since I'd grown up in Texas, but Sheen and Libby were still newcomers to the snow and freezing cold scene since moving to Colorado a few years ago.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Tell her not to worry about me making it there on time, which I will unless a freak accident happens. She just needs you," I assured him.

"Damn, you been watching Dr. Phil lately? That was almost poetic."

"Very funny."

"Just know that if Carl makes it here before you, he becomes the real godfather. Sorry."

My flight wasn't supposed to leave for another two hours, so I got in line for baggage check and waited comfortably. The holiday rush was over, and with it being a weekday, the line wasn't too long.

"That reminds me," I said. "You never told me who Libby chose as the godmother."

"...You really gotta ask that? I thought you were like, the smartest guy on earth or something. Think about it for a second."

Personal digs aside, he had a point - I _did_ know who Libby's likely choice would be but every part of my being was hoping and praying that it would be someone else. It could be a stranger, for all I cared.

"I really don't want to say it. If I say her name she might appear out of thin air," I groaned. Sheen laughed so loud I winced, and I could hear him telling Libby what I'd said in the background. Of course they thought it was hilarious. They'd probably planned it out on purpose.

There was a shuffling noise on the end of the phone and Libby's voice was in my ear in the next second. "I'm only going to tell you this once, and if I have to tell you again while I'm pushing something the size of a watermelon out of my vagina then I won't be happy," she said sternly, and I had to hold back a chuckle, especially when I heard Sheen laughing in the background again. "The two of you will get along the entire time you're here, and I don't want to hear any arguing, name-calling, bragging, screaming, or insults thrown at each other. My baby can hear that through the womb, you hear me? You'll scar Sheen Jr. for life."

"Please tell me you're not really naming him Sheen Jr."

" _Jimmy_ ," she said in a threatening voice, and I shut up immediately.

"Yes ma'am. But I sure hope you gave her the same spiel you just gave me," I replied. "You know she's not innocent in all of this."

"Oh I know," she said on a sigh. "Trust me. I've been working on her for years to lose that temper. I have a bad feeling it'll be worse than ever right now, too, with -"

"Hey, no need to freak him out," Sheen came back on the phone suddenly. I didn't know what Libby had been leading up to, but I wasn't sure if I really cared. We said our goodbyes and I told him I'd text him when I landed in Colorado Springs.

Despite the happy occasion and life-changing milestones I'd get to experience with my best friends, I wasn't looking forward to sharing it with a literal she-devil. I would follow Libby's orders and try to keep the peace for as long as I could, but there wasn't just something about her that irked me and drove me up the wall with anger and frustration - it was _everything_ about her.

Ever since high school graduation, I'd seen her maybe once or twice, and we hadn't exactly made pleasant conversation with each other. It was still hard to be in the same room as her knowing how she felt about me - which seemed to be pure hatred. I could always be wrong about her, though. She could be nice and sweet now.

I nearly laughed out loud at the thought. _Yeah right_.

-0-0-0-0-0-

I hadn't been worried about the upcoming snowfall that was supposed to occur in Colorado when Sheen had mentioned, nor when I saw the news broadcasts about it in the airport as I checked in for my flight and waited near my boarding gate.

When cancellations and delays started appearing on the various screens set up to relay flight information, I cursed. If my flight got delayed now there was no way there would be another one directly to Colorado until the storm quit, which could be an entire twenty-four hours from now. Sheen was going to flip.

I started looking up flights would land in places like Albuquerque or Santa Fe so I could get there and drive the rest of the way in case my flight was suddenly cancelled. If I would've known how bad the storm was going to be, I would have just taken the hover car. It was a little worse for wear these days, and it definitely needed fixing up, but it would do in a pinch.

There was a collective groan head amongst the people around me and I glanced up at the screen. My flight had indeed just been cancelled. I stood up and made my way to a ticket desk, not wanting to waste any time.

"What do you mean it's cancelled? I just bought my ticket like an hour ago. Why would you sell it to me if you knew there was a chance it could be cancelled?"

A distinct, powerful voice drew my attention to one of the ticket desks. My attention was caught by a frightened looking attendant who was trying to calm someone down. "Ma'am, we don't get that kind of information beforehand. You can get a refund or I can rebook your flight for when the storm passes. The next available one is scheduled for Wednesday at-"

"Wednesday?! That's two days from now. I'll miss the whole damn birth of my godchild!"

The sound of the voice and the word _godchild_ clicked inside my brain and my first instinct was to run far, far away. That would have been immature, of course, so I didn't. I also knew I'd never get away in time to escape her obvious anger. It would demolish everything at the rate she was going.

So, I decided on the opposite of my first instinct. I intervened instead.

"Cindy," I said loudly, walking up to the desk she was terrorizing the worker at. "Long time no see."

I knew my presence would probably shock her - just as shocked as I was by her being there. Last I'd heard, Cindy Vortex was living in New York City and working in a lab as biochemist. Oh, and she was also engaged. I'd heard bits and pieces about her life from people like Sheen, Libby, and my parents but I hadn't personally caught up with her. The few times I'd seen her in the past eight years had been uneventful. I spent most of my time avoiding her like the plague. After graduation, we'd went our separate ways for college. I'd chosen the west coast and she'd taken to the east. At the time, I was ecstatic that I'd possibly never see her again. Living on opposite ends of the country put sufficiently enough space between us. I should've known that was a pipe dream.

The airport worker seemed happy about the sudden interruption. All the heat and anger stored in Cindy's 5'2'' frame had been redirected off of her and onto...me. I didn't really care, but there was a line growing starting to form behind the blonde now.

"You're going to get security called on you if you keep it up," I told her quietly, and she glared at me, but grabbed her purse that she had sitting on the counter and stomped off, brushing past me.

"I'll be back!" She said over her shoulder at the poor lady working the counter. I rolled my eyes and took off after her.

"Are you insane? Don't you know better than to make a scene at an airport? They'll have no problem treating you as a threat," I said once I'd gotten caught up with her. It wasn't a difficult task. Even though she was a fast walker, I was much taller than she was and didn't have to put forth much effort to get farther.

"Well hello to you too, Neutron," she replied snidely.

"What are you even doing here?"

She stopped suddenly and turned towards me. I had to stop myself from physically running into here. "I thought it was obvious that I'm flying to see my best friend have her baby. What are _you_ doing here?"

"I'm doing the same thing, actually."

Her glare strengthened. "Funny. Libby didn't mention you were going to be around. I should've known I wasn't going to get that lucky."

 _Great_. Libby had been planning on giving Cindy the surprise of the century. I didn't know if that was a smart idea or a terribly bad one. Now it was up to me to break the news to her.

"I'm guessing she didn't mention who you'd be god-parenting with, either."

Realization dawned on her face for a moment, leaving her looking the least angry and hateful I'd seen her since...well, ever. But the negative emotions were back on her face tenfold a second later. "She bamboozled me. I can't believe this! Just wait until she has that baby, I'm going to kick her ass!"

I wanted to ask her why the word _bamboozle_ was the first one she thought of to use in this context but she was already walking away again. "Where are you going?" I asked, still keeping up with her.

"Away from you!" She said, and so I stopped in my tracks. She kept walking, her blonde hair fluttering behind her with each forceful step. I wasn't sure why I'd tried to follow her in the first place, but I watched her until she disappeared into a crowd of people.

I already had a headache from this entire situation. I walked back to one of the ticket desks and inquired about flights landing in New Mexico, but there weren't any going out until the next day. At this rate it would nearly be faster - and less frustrating - to drive to Colorado from California than it would be to wait. I browsed car rentals on my phone and walked around the airport a little. I told myself it was for exercise purposes and not because I was looking for a certain someone.

I found her anyway, and she was sitting on a bench near a deserted gate. She didn't seem angry anymore. In fact, she seemed a little too still and silent, like she frozen in time. Her cellphone was in her hand, resting on her lap, Like was ready to make a call or answer it at any moment. She didn't react when I sat down next to her.

"Maybe we should start over," I said slowly. Her eyes slid over to me but she didn't say anything. "Earlier when I asked what you were doing here, I meant in San Diego, not in the airport. I thought you lived in New York?"

"I do. I was here for a work conference."

"I'm thinking about just driving to Colorado instead of waiting for a new flight."

"That's an idiotic idea," she said flippantly.

"Really? You have a better one?"

"I have more sense than to drive straight into the biggest projected snow storm of the year, and that's more than I can say for you."

I could feel my anger rising in that familiar old way, and it was like I was right back in high school again, fighting with Cindy over who had better ideas or who could score higher on the SATs. I always hated how I reacted around her, and I especially hated how she treated me.

"I don't know how you're so pissed off at me already after seeing each other for the first time in almost ten years, but I don't really care anymore. I was going to suggest we drive there together but you're right - that's an awful idea," I said as I stood up, and she finally looked at me with wide eyes. "It was nice catching up with you, Vortex. See you in Colorado."

I walked away, determined to get the hell out of dodge. I thought I heard her say _Neutron_ to my back but I ignored it. If she hated me so much, even after all this time, then I had underestimated the power of time healing all things.

I rented a car without much fuss, and went outside of the airport to wait for the rental person to bring the car to the curb. I was getting ready to text Sheen my plan - hoping he wouldn't freak out - when I felt a presence next to me.

"You surprised me," Cindy said, looking guiltier than I had ever seen her look in all the years I've known her. Which wasn't saying much. "Old habits die hard, right?"

I didn't reply.

"Alright, Neutron, _I'm sorry_."

"Don't strain yourself."

"Shut up," She said quickly and then shut her eyes, sighing. "See? I can't help it."

"You're not helping your case. What do you want?"

"Libby will kill me if she finds out I pissed you off before we've even gotten to the hospital," she replied begrudgingly. "And you're right, about driving I mean."

"Can I get that in writing?"

"Is it necessary for you to be so obnoxious?"

"Is it necessary for you to be so bitchy all the time?"

Her eyes darkened and I knew I had pushed it a little too far, but part of me felt like she deserved it.

"I probably deserved that," she said quietly, as if she'd read my thoughts. "But that's the only insult to my character you get say before I fight back."

I found myself smiling, which was a weird reaction to have, to say the least. She crossed her arms, her left hand cupping her elbow, and I instinctively looked down at her hand. No ring in sight. Perhaps I'd gotten my information wrong.

"So you're saying you're not waiting for the next flight?"

"I'd like to take you up on your offer if it still stands."

She kept surprising me. The first one had been when she'd appeared out of nowhere and the next had been when she actually apologized, as insincere as it sounded. Now she was going to willingly drive nearly 17 hours with me?

"Okay, but there's going to be some ground rules." She raised a brow at me. "We split driving time equally, and since it's almost five pm now, we should probably stay at a hotel tonight."

"Driver gets to control the radio," she said. "And I get to drive first."

"Why do you get to drive first?"

"Because I called it."

I ground my teeth together. This was a _bad_ idea. I could feel it in my bones. I was going to be pulling my hair out by the time we arrived at Sheen and Libby's.

But I couldn't exactly turn her away. No matter how badly I wanted to hate her fully, I wasn't able to. It had never been that easy for me. I knew there was a part of Cindy that was unlike the selfish, cruel, rude, and tough exterior that she wore. At times, she could be sweet and funny. Loyal. I'd seen it before, and so it was hard for me to push her away at a time like this.

"Fine," I said after I had calmed myself down some. "But I get to choose the hotel _and_ where we eat first."

"Whatever. How much is this going to cost me?" She nodded towards the white Highlander that pulled up.

"Don't worry about it."

I grabbed my bags and started putting them in the trunk, and when I was done I noticed she hadn't moved. She had her hands on her hips now, glaring at me.

"What do you mean, 'don't worry about it'? You think I can't pay for half?"

I put my hands up defensively. "It's not a big deal."

"Neutron, you really don't think I'm going to let you pay-"

I dangled the keys in front of her face to shut her up. "If you don't start driving, I will."

She grabbed the keys and ran to the drivers side. I rolled my eyes and mentally started a countdown. 17 hours of driving, maybe closer to 20 or 21 on the road to account for stops and traffic. Eight hours to sleep, plus a few more so we could shower and get ready. That meant I only had to spend around 32 hours with her until we had other people around us to act like as a buffer. Too bad that the majority of those hours would be spent in close quarters.

I took a deep breath before getting in the car. I could do this.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy was a bad driver. At first I thought it had been the rush hour traffic that was hindering her skills, but I realized as we got out of the city that she had a lead foot. She liked to stomp on the brake instead of easing into it. I could also tell she liked her music loud, and I kept turning it down. Every few seconds she would turn it back up. We went back and forth like that for awhile until I shut the entire radio off.

She glared at me instantly. "I told you driver controls the radio."

"You're going to make me deaf!"

"Don't be so dramatic," she snorted. The way she was weaving in and out of cars on the highway was making me nervous - and I didn't get nervous often.

"Do you drive very much?" I asked.

"Haven't in awhile. Since I live in the city my car just sits and collects dust in a parking garage. It's easier to walk places or catch a cab."

"I can tell."

She just turned the radio back on. I quickly shut it back off. "Do you like living in New York?" I asked in order to stave off her anger.

She shrugged. "It's alright."

"Just alright?" I was curious by her less than enthusiastic answer.

"It's not Texas," she said. I didn't know what she meant by that. "How is California?"

"I like it. I'm not fond of the cold."

"I can't say that I like it too much either."

Polite conversation about the weather - that was a good sign. I jumped as Cindy blared her horn as we passed a semi.

"What the hell?!"

"He cut me off earlier. I was just saying 'fuck you' in the best way that I can."

Why was I not surprised?

We rode in silence for awhile and I checked my phone. Sheen was definitely worried about the fact that I was driving, but I assured him it was fine. I left out the part that I had Cindy with me. It served him right for not telling me she would be coming. I'd leave it up to her to break the news to him and Libby that we were traveling together.

I jolted forward in my seat a little as Cindy pressed on the gas hard - it had to be nearly down to the floorboard with the way it felt. I saw the speedometer leap from 70 mph to almost 85. "What the fuck?"

She glanced to the rear view mirror calmly. "This guy has been following us pretty closely ever since I flipped him off. I'm just trying to lose him."

"I didn't realize I was signing up for a rendition of Fast and the Furious by being your passenger. Who do you think you are, Vin Diesel?"

I looked behind us. Sure enough, the huge truck behind us was having no problem keeping up even with our increase in speed. Cindy had her middle finger in the mirror, directly in the guys line of sight.

"Are you seriously just egging him on right now?" I exclaimed. "You're going to get us plowed over."

"Fine, I'll slow down," she said, and pumped the brake. The truck had to pass us quickly to avoid a collision.

This woman was going to give me a heart attack. "I want to drive. Right now."

"It's only been an hour!"

"I don't care, you're a crazy driver! You're lucky I let you drive for this long!"

"And what do you want me to do, pull over on the side of the highway?"

"There's an exit coming up in a mile."

The next minute of driving was spent in tense silence, and as she turned onto the off ramp of the exit I recognized the semi exiting directly in front of us as the one Cindy pissed off earlier. She didn't even seem to notice, or if she did she didn't care.

"Just get back on up here and keep driving," I told her and she looked at me like I was crazy.

"You can't just change your mind! Plus, I have to pee."

"Already?!"

She didn't answer, just pulled up to the closest gas station and got out. I took several deep breaths and then got out to sit in the driver's seat. I looked around but didn't see the crazy truck driver anywhere. Hopefully it would be smooth sailing from here.

After another five minutes, I started to get annoyed again. Maybe a little concerned too. I didn't think she would take so long, and if I knew Cindy she was probably -

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Cindy full out _running_ towards the car. Out of instinct I started the vehicle and she got into the passenger seat. "You need to drive, and fast. Let's go!"

"What's going on?!"

She pointed out the windshield where a big burly man was barreling towards us. He was clutching his nose. I frantically shifted the car into reverse and the car squealed as we took off away from the gas station and onto the highway again.

When blood stopped rushing through in my ears I looked over at Cindy. Her eyes were wide and she was poking at her right hand.

"You punched him."

"He wouldn't leave me alone!"

"And so you punched him?"

"Hey, I was just defending myself. He was getting all up in my face! I didn't see _you_ doing anything!"

"He wouldn't have been in your face at all if you hadn't flipped him off so many times. And how was I supposed to know what was happening inside?"

She used her good hand to flip me off. I couldn't believe that the situation had escalated so quickly or that our little road trip had gone to absolute shit in less than two hours of driving. All I wanted was to get far enough to a hotel and stay away from her for the night and hopefully tomorrow would be better.

Silence only lasted for about ten minutes until I saw her flexing her hand and wincing. I felt a little bad for freaking out on her. I didn't know Cindy very well anymore, but the Cindy from high school didn't fly off the handle and punch just anyone. She probably really felt threatened by the truck driver. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she did shortly, placing her hand back on her lap like nothing was wrong.

I sighed. So much for making nice.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy fell asleep soon after that. Punching people in the face must be exhausting - not that I would know.

That meant I was able to drive in peace for a few hours. When darkness fell and my eyes started to burn from focusing for so long, I figured it was a good time as any to stop. Not to mention I was starving.

We were an hour past Phoenix, but we still had a lot of driving left to do if we want to make it to Sheen and Libby's at a decent time the next day.

I exited in a town that promised a few restaurants and a hotel, and Cindy awoke as the car came to a stop at a red light.

"Are we there already?" She asked in a confused, tired voice. I chuckled.

"Not quite. Just stopping for the night."

"I didn't mean to fall asleep. I could've drove more."

Sleepiness somehow made Cindy Vortex kinder than usual.

"You hungry?"

She nodded. I chose the first place we came across; a small but well-lit and homey looking diner.

Cindy didn't say much as we sat down and I was able to catch a glimpse of her hand as she read the menu. It was red and clearly swollen. "Jesus, your hand is huge. It's definitely broken."

She glanced down at it. "I'll ice it later and take some painkillers. It'll be fine."

The waitress stopped by our table with a bored expression on her face. "What can I get you?"

"Do you serve alcohol here?" Cindy asked abruptly.

The waitress didn't even blink. "We only have the basics."

I discreetly checked my watch. It was nearly eleven. Cindy smiled happily and ordered her meal. "And the strongest drink you have."

I ordered and eyed her suspiciously. "Really?"

"It's been a long day, Nerdtron."

The usage of her old nickname she'd made up for me gave me the same feeling I got when I visited my parents house in Retroville. Nostalgic, comforting, yet with an annoying touch that only Cindy could produce.

The strongest drink the diner had ended up being a mysterious clear liquid in a short glass. Our food came immediately after. I watched with fascination as Cindy downed the entire drink at once and she made a disgusted face.

"Let me guess - cheap vodka."

"Try again."

"Tequila?"

"Nope. Worse."

"What's worse than tequila?" I pondered.

"Use your imagination," she insisted. "Think bad high school decisions."

I thought about that for a moment and she rolled her eyes. The waitress was walking past our table carrying a large tub of dishes and Cindy stopped her. "Can we get two more of this delicious beverage please?"

The waitress nodded and kept walking. "Oh hell no," I said. "Absolutely not."

"Chicken," she muttered under her breath. Suddenly I had a glass of strong smelling liquor sitting in front of me. "Don't think about it, just drink it."

She lifted her glass and I did the same. She clinked them together in an informal toast and we took the shot at the same time. It burned all the way down.

"Ever clear," I said, picking up my water. "I definitely wasn't drinking that in high school."

She shrugged and started eating. "Not my fault you were boring."

Something about her tone rubbed me the wrong way. "Boring?! I was not."

"Oh please, name one exciting thing you did in high school that wasn't science or space related."

I sat back in my seat a little, feeling stumped. "Science _is_ exciting."

"I'm not disagreeing with you on that but there's more to life than your scientific endeavors."

"Alright, I'll humor you. Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know, let's start with non-academic hobbies. Got any?"

"...I've been hiking before."

"You've been hiking as in it's something you like to do and do it often or you've been hiking as in you've done it once?"

"Does it matter?"

"Okay, so the second one," she said, a sly smile overtaking her face. "Let's move on to...your love life. Got a girlfriend or anything?"

"No, but I don't see why that matters," I said defensively.

Cindy made an effort to catch the waitress' eye, who looked like she may be avoiding us. "You probably spend all of your time working and being holed up in a lab somewhere, avoiding all female attention. Or male - I don't want to make assumptions."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Very funny, Vortex. What makes you the authority on these things?"

She suddenly bore an innocent expression. "Why, I never said I was an expert on anything! I'm just offering a different perspective, is all."

"You're so fucking annoying."

She grinned, not put off at all by my language - which had slipped out unbidden probably thanks to the alcohol - or my insult.

The waitress finally came back and ripped our bill from her ticket book. "If you want to keep imbibing you'll have to do next door at the bar. We close in thirty minutes."

Cindy grabbed the slip of paper and paid it before I had a chance to protest.

"Cmon, vanilla boy. Let's get out of here before they charge us with public intoxication."

She got up and started to leave the restaurant. I had no choice but to follow her. "Vanilla boy? Are you serious?"

Once outside, she bypassed the car and sure enough - she was headed to the bar next door. I must not have been in the right mind, because I followed her without arguing.

"What about you?" I asked her as we sat down on the stools along the bar. The place was a total dive - dark, dirty, and smelled a little strange. There was a group of tough looking guys playing pool in the corner and a few others sitting at the bar like we were.

"What about me? And what are you drinking?"

"I'll just have whatever you're having." Of course, she ordered two shots of tequila. "I'm not trying to be hungover tomorrow."

"Chill out. What are you trying to ask me?"

"Since you're so concerned with _my_ hobbies and _my_ love life, yours must be in pretty good shape, right?"

"Of course," she said, but the way she avoided eye contact told a different story.

"Do tell. Maybe it'll inspire me to spice up my own life."

She glared at me and took the shot, wincing a little as it went down. "You're despicable."

"I'm only having one of these and then we need to find a hotel. It's already late the way it is."

"Oh, live a little, Nerdtron! We could be attacked by scorpions in our sleep and die tomorrow. You would regret not taking another shot with me," she said, and I could tell that the alcohol was already affecting her.

"I highly doubt we will be die because we got attacked by scorpions."

Cindy hopped off of her barstool. "I don't want to test our luck. We're in Arizona after all. Want to play some pool?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

I should've known that one shot was going to turn into four, and that one seemingly innocent pool game would turn into something much greater than that. The men who were finishing up their game didn't like us moving in on their territory at first but after a few minutes of flirting by Cindy, they easily moved out of our way.

One of them insisted on playing the winner. Even with a possibly broken hand, Cindy kicked my ass. In my defense, I've only played pool a few times. That didn't stop her from teasing me endlessly. When she beat the roughest looking guy in the bunch, it was hard not to be impressed.

The only reason we left was because the bar closed at two am. I knew in the back of my mind that tomorrow was going to be hell. I knew I would be hungover, grouchy, and if we got a late start with driving then it would ruin the whole day - but I could at least admit that I had fun.

Never in a million years did I imagine myself staying the night in bumfuck nowhere, Arizona with Cindy Vortex, let alone have such a fun time doing it.

Watching her charm the group of mean looking bikers was amusing to say the least. I was on their good side by default, and they kept insisting we have another drink with them.

We drifted back to the car to grab our bags for the night. Luckily, there was a small hotel across the road from the bar and we could walk there easily.

"You're not exactly what I remember from eight years ago," I told her, the words slipping out of my mouth unchecked. She gave me a curious look.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you punched a trucker. You made friends with a group of bikers and you seem to be doing pretty well right now for all the tequila and ever clear you've drank."

She fluttered her eyelashes at me playfully. "I like to keep things interesting."

"You're kind of a badass, Vortex."

"What can I say, Neutron? You bring it out of me. I spend five minutes with you and suddenly life goes from easy breezy to dangerous and crazy."

She grabbed her bag and walked off at that statement.

"Hey, you better not be blaming me for all that's happened today!" I shut the trunk of the car and ran after her to the hotel.

A young, tired looking woman was running the front desk. She greeted us with a slight glance as we walked in.

"Can we get two rooms?" I asked her.

She typed at her computer for a few moments before sighing. "We only have one available."

I opened my mouth to argue but Cindy clapped a hand over my mouth. "We'll take it."

I glared at her and then we had a small argument over who would pay. When I reached for my wallet, she stomped on my foot and while I was distracted, she slid her card to the woman with a triumphant smile.

She had a great knack for fighting dirty.

We got the keys to the room and I was excited to change and finally get some sleep. I was definitely more than a little buzzed, too.

I walked into the room and dropped my bag when I saw that there was only _one_ bed. Great. Cindy bumped into me a second later. "Why are you blocking the roadway with your huge head?" She grumbled.

"There's only one bed," I said. She peered around me to see for herself.

"So there is. At least it's a big one."

I stifled a groan. "I can sleep on the floor."

"Don't be ridiculous. You have a problem with sharing?" She sat down in the bed and raised a brow at me.

Now that we were in a more brightly lit area, I could tell she was affected by the tequila too with her pink cheeks and her green eyes slightly glossy. Her hair was still down and a little mussed up from our activities of the day. I also noticed for the first time her top was low cut. I tried to remember that she was an _engaged_ woman according to Libby.

"You know, you never answered my question earlier."

"What question was that?" She kicked off her shoes. I plopped down on the bed next to her, leaning back into the pillows.

"About your hobbies," I said casually. "And your love life."

"My hobbies include road tripping with a boy I knew in high school who's pretty vanilla," she teased, laying down to face me with her head propped up with her hand.

I rolled my eyes at the vanilla comment. "And the other part?"

I had no idea why I was pushing her so hard. I thought the fact that she was supposedly engaged but wasn't wearing a ring or had even mentioned a significant other was just weird to me.

She looked down, pulling at a string on the blanket as she answered. "Let's just say I don't have the best track record with men. I'm starting to think I would be better off with a man who's sort of...vanilla." We made eye contact and my heart started to race as she placed her uninjured hand on my chest lightly, as if she were afraid to touch me. "Vanilla is nice. Vanilla is easy."

"Yeah, okay - I'll show you vanilla."

I threaded my fingers through her long tresses and settled my hand at the base of her neck, giving her a kiss that may her rethinking about labeling me as _vanilla_.

When I pulled back after a few minutes, she grinned at me. "You know, there's nothing wrong with vanilla. They call it the classic flavor for a reason and -"

I cut off her ramblings with another kiss. I quickly shut down the part of my brain that screamed this was a bad idea. She hadn't actually told me if she was with someone or not, although I was leaning towards _not_ judging by her words and actions. Neither of us were thinking clearly.

She used the hand on my chest to push me off of her and I thought I had taken it too far. When she slipped her shirt off and climbed on top of me, I knew I hadn't.

I could taste the lime she'd used with the tequila shots as she opened her mouth, sliding her tongue against mine shamelessly. I broke the kiss to pepper kisses down her jaw and neck, scraping my teeth against her throat lightly. I took advantage of all the skin she'd revealed and ran my hands down her strong back and soft stomach, goosebumps appearing over the flesh I touched. She gasped when I unsnapped her bra with one quick hand movement. I couldn't stop the self-satisfied grin from forming on my face. She undid my jeans in retaliation, not hesitating to slide her hand down inside to pump me slowly, causing me to groan. I pushed her onto her back to regain control after a few moments, unwilling to be the one to lay back and give her a reason to call me _vanilla_ again.

The rest of the night is a blur of warmth and the distinct pain - the best kind - of her nails digging into my back and shoulders. I didn't think about what the next morning might bring. I didn't _care_ about consequences or regrets or complications. That almost never happened. There were only a few occasions in my life in which I ran off of pure emotion and impulse, whether it be of the positive or negative variety. Funny that they all seemed to involve Cindy Vortex.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone! Here's the second (and last) installment for this. Thank you for all of the kind reviews! I hope everyone enjoys!**

 **Keep the Car Running**

I woke up to blinding light through the curtains of the shabby bedroom I'd fallen asleep in the night before. My head hurt and I was still tired, but I was immediately concerned about the amount of sunlight entering the room. It sure as hell wasn't the type of early morning sunlight that gently shone through the windows. I checked my watch. It was nearly eleven am.

"Shit!" I exclaimed, jumping out of bed, trying to find my clothes. I gave up and grabbed my bag before going to the bathroom. I got ready in record time, and when I came back into the room Cindy was sitting up and rubbing her eyes. The sheet was barely covering her, and I got an eyeful of what I'd already seen the night before. Suddenly I couldn't look away from her.

God. What the fuck was wrong with me?

"Why are you yelling?" She asked tiredly.

"Cindy, it's eleven o'clock. We've lost around five hours of driving already. We need to go!"

"Okay, wait, hold on. Give me like five more minutes." She laid back down and closed her eyes, snuggling into the pillow.

"No, get up! Sheen and Libby are going to murder us."

Her eyes popped open and she checked her phone that was lying on the nightstand. "Oh no."

"What is it?" I asked while packing up my clothes from the night before.

"Libby called me like eight times. I forgot I'm technically leaving today."

"What are you talking about?"

"My plans sort of changed last minute. Originally I was going to fly from New York today but since I went to California I was going to their house a day early as a surprise. She thinks I should be getting on a flight right now."

"You can tell her on the way. Checkout time already passed."

She gave me a pointed look and it took me a few seconds to realize that she wanted me to leave so she could change. "I'll just go out to the car," I said awkwardly.

I checked out of the hotel and left through the double doors, replaying the events from the day before in my head over and over again. I couldn't be in close quarters with Cindy for more than twelve hours before we slept together? Not that I expected it to happen - but there had to be a reason why neither of us protested, not even once. I didn't know what my reason was but I had a feeling I would be thinking about it for awhile.

I shoved my bag into the trunk of the car and contemplated getting some coffee while I waited for Cindy. Hopefully she wouldn't be too long. We were still parked at the diner, so I could stop in there but they looked busy. I would have better luck at the gas station on the opposite side of the bar we drank in the night before.

I made my way over there. Only a few cars were parked and one lone semi, too. I suddenly had a weird feeling as I scanned the parking lot. I had my hand on the door handle of the store and one eye on the semi when the trucker jumped down from his seat, slamming it shut behind him with a _clang_. Oh Jesus. It was the same guy Cindy punched.

I didn't think it was a coincidence that he was here in the same town, but it was possible. Either way I didn't want him to spot me or Cindy and things get ugly. I turned back towards the car and saw Cindy was walking towards me, lugging her bag behind her.

"This thing is heavy," she whined. "And the water from the shower dried out my hair." I put my hands on her shoulders and tried directing her towards the opposite direction. "What are you doing? I'm thirsty."

"We can stop at the next exit, I promise. Your little friend is here."

Her eyes widened and she looked behind me.

"Hey!"

Just our luck that the psycho trucker would spot us. "I don't think I can punch him with this hand again," Cindy said calmly as she watched the man start stomping in our direction. "Maybe you should take one for the team, Neutron."

"Or maybe we should run," I told her, and we both took off. The trucker was an older man, and he wasn't the fastest runner I'd ever seen. He also seemed to get winded easily. We outran him quickly but I still peeled out of the parking lot in a hurry, just to be safe.

"Why does that keep happening?" Cindy asked.

"Why would you ask that? You're the one who pissed him off."

She rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything. That was when a heavily awkward silence fell over the car. I'd been expecting it. I sure as hell wasn't going to bring up the events from the night before and I doubted she would, either.

I cleared my throat. "Maybe you should call Libby."

"Shouldn't you concentrate on driving?" She snapped, all of the playfulness and teasing smiles from the night before miles away from us now.

So _that's_ how it was going to be. Back to square one. Typical.

-0-0-0-0-0-

When Cindy returned Libby's call, she lied her ass off and told her that her flight got delayed by a few hours due to the storm, which meant she would miss her connecting flight. She wasn't going to be there until tomorrow morning at the earliest.

"Why didn't you tell her the truth?"

"You really want her freaking out about you and I traveling there together?"

"Why would she feel the need to freak out? We're mature adults."

She gave me a sideways look. "Sure, because this trip has been smooth sailing, hasn't it?"

I couldn't disagree with her there.

I drove for awhile, and after we stopped for some food I let her behind the wheel. By this time we'd crossed into Colorado, but it was already getting dark since we'd gotten such a late start. The terrain was more mountainous, of course, and unfortunately it was starting to snow.

I knew I needed to call Sheen and tell him that I may be delayed...again.

"That can't be a good sign," Cindy muttered as she peered out of the windshield.

"It's possible we're driving straight into the storm."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Okay, what's your deal?" I asked angrily. "You've been rude to me ever since we got up this morning."

"Ha!" She laughed. "I wonder why."

"Is it because of what happened last night?"

"Are you daft?" She shot back.

"I understand that this trip has been...unexpected...but you and I were actually getting along yesterday. Whatever you wanna say, Vortex, just say it. Say that you regret it or you hate me. It won't hurt my feelings."

"Why do you assume that I'm going to say I regretted it?"

"Because I do!" I yelled.

It wasn't true. Not even close. I wanted a repeat, if anything else, but I couldn't tell her that. She couldn't even look at me. If I just went ahead and said what she was thinking, the rest of the trip would be easier on us. If I told her how I _really_ felt about the events from the night before, things would just get even messier.

I expected her to yell back at me, but she didn't. She stayed deathly silent and I could tell she was gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"Cindy-" I started, feeling guilty.

"Don't talk to me," she said icily. I had no other choice than to shut my mouth unless I wanted to make things worse.

Even though I didn't mean what I said, it was too late. I'd probably just cut the last of the ties I had to Cindy Vortex.

-0-0-0-0-0-

After what felt like hours of painful silence that was really only forty-five minutes, I offered to drive again. I was getting concerned about the combination of increasing snowfall and Cindy's driving. She shot me down immediately with a glare, but I knew she wasn't totally unaffected by the weather conditions. Her hands were tight on the steering wheel, one of them with white knuckles and the other…

"Cindy, oh my God. Your hand looks awful!"

It was more swollen than the day before - so much so that she couldn't wrap her fingers around the wheel entirely. Purples and blues were blooming around her fingers and knuckles. It looked painful.

"It just needs some ice. I sort of...forgot about it last night," she said tightly.

"Do we need to stop? We can find a doctor somewhere. You might need it wrapped, or -"

"Oh, can it, Neutron. I don't want to hear you act like you care about anything that pertains to me," she said.

Well, that was a little harsh, if not deserving. I sighed. "I do care."

"Oh really? That's a little hard to believe."

"Why is that? You can't say I haven't made an effort to get along with you since we started this trip," I said heatedly.

"What about for the past eight years? Remember when I turned twenty-one and I actually _invited_ you to my party? You told Sheen that you would rather get alcohol poisoning then spend an entire night watching me act like a spoiled brat," she said, not even looking at me.

I cringed as I remembered that. Cindy threw a huge get together in Vegas for her 21st, and at the time I thought I was only invited because Sheen or Libby forced her to do so. The comment I'd made had been said in jest...or at least, I thought it'd been said in _confidence_ to one of my friends who was apparently never going to stop being a blabber-mouth.

She smirked humorlessly at the look on my face. "Yeah, didn't think I knew about that, did you? Or what about our five year high school reunion? You wouldn't even _look_ at me for more than two seconds."

"I really thought you still hated me! That's how you acted all throughout our entire lives!" I exclaimed defensively.

"I understand I was an asshole, but you were too. I wasn't mad about either of those things because I sort of expected that kind of response. You and I are a lot alike. We don't always forgive easily," she said quietly.

"If I would've known you were wanted to make amends or that you finally wanted to be friends, I might have been more open to it. I honestly had no idea," I told her earnestly.

"If that's true, then what about Libby and Sheen's wedding last year?" She said while finally looking over to make eye contact with me. "It was the same thing as our reunion. We were in close proximity for over two days and you spoke maybe ten words to me the whole time. And I tried, Jimmy. I really did."

There was really no defense for my behavior with that. Before the wedding, I'd resolved to stay away from Cindy so that we wouldn't end up fighting. I didn't want to stress out the newlyweds on their happy day. It had been hard to do because she kept talking to me throughout the entire weekend. I thought was she dead-set on annoying me. Thinking back on it now, she _had_ been making an effort to get along. I just didn't see it until now.

"I'm sorry," I told her. "I didn't know. I didn't want to fight with you and I was afraid that's what it would turn out to be."

"We could've been pretty good friends in high school," she mused. "I always thought maybe I shouldn't let myself get so angry around you. Hindsight is 20/20 I guess."

"You're right, we are alike. But if it means anything now, I don't think it's too late for us. To make things right between us, I mean."

She shook her head. "I'm tired of trying, Neutron. I'm tired of putting myself out there and not receiving anything in return. And since you regret last night so badly, it's probably best if we stay away from each other."

My heart sank and I knew I'd really fucked things up. My phone started vibrating and I pulled it out of my pocket. It was Sheen.

"Hey," I answered. "How are things going?"

"Not well!" He almost yelled. Cindy looked at me in alarm. I put the phone on speaker so she could hear. "Libby is having contractions."

"I thought she was being induced on Thursday?"

"She's supposed to be! Sheen Jr. is coming early!"

This situation probably couldn't get any worse. It was getting likelier that we would miss the birth completely. "It'll be okay, just stay calm. Are you guys still at home?"

There was some shuffling on the end of the line and Libby's voice came through. "Everything's fine," she said wearily. "My contractions are still pretty far apart and we haven't left for the hospital yet. Where are you?"

"Near Pagosa Springs. Still around four hours away."

"That's not bad. If anything, you can meet us at the hospital. I'm really worried about Cindy, though." My eyes met Cindy's and she had an _oh shit_ look on her face. "She's not answering any of my calls or texts."

"I'm sure she's fine, Libby."

"Her flight got delayed and I know she doesn't like to fly. I'm thinking maybe I should tell her that you'll be here, too. I feel bad for surprising her," she rambled. We could hear Sheen making a fuss in the background.

"I wouldn't worry so much, Libby. She's probably on her flight now, and we'll both be on our best behavior."

I saw Cindy roll her eyes.

"I don't know about that," she said uneasily. "She's had a rough time lately. She might not be up for making nice with you even though I asked her too."

I glanced at the blonde curiously and she was glaring at the phone. "Rough time?" I asked. Cindy reached over and tapped the screen, ending the call. "That was not a good idea!"

"Text her in five minutes and say you have spotty signal. It'll be fine."

"What is she talking about, Cindy?"

"Jimmy, I think we're sliding."

"Nice try, but I'm not going to forget about this so easily-"

She was right though. I felt the tires of the car lose traction and they were spinning wildly on the layers of packed snow and ice on the road even as I felt Cindy lift off of the gas. We were drifting close to the side of the road. It was nothing short of a miracle that we were driving along a stretch of the highway that wasn't surrounded by rocky mountains or a steep drop on the side. There was just a lot of snow covering the ditch to the side of us, which looked deep but not life-threatening.

"What do I do?!" She asked in a panicked voice. "Do I use the brake?"

"No, don't do that! We'll slide even more!"

I didn't have to worry about her using the brake, though. The person driving behind us hadn't even slowed down, and tapped our bumper as it struggled to go around us. Next thing I knew, we had nose dived into a snowbank several feet from the road. We sat in stunned silence for a few seconds afterwards and I looked over at Cindy. She seemed okay but she wasn't moving. I reached over and shut off the car. There was no way that we'd be able to drive it now.

Cindy looked at me as the car's whirring came to a stop.

"So, what now, genius?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

After we managed to get out of the car through the backseat doors, I immediately started calling the rental service I'd used.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I got put on hold. She was rummaging through her bag.

"It's fucking cold. I didn't pack any clothes suitable for standing in a twelve degree snowstorm," she snapped.

"I'm not the one that was driving the car, so I don't know why you're yelling at me," I muttered more to myself than to her.

She threw the clothes she had in her hands back in the bag and put her hands on her hips, turning on me. "This is exactly what I'm talking about, Neutron. Why are you blaming me for this?"

"You're not exactly being nice to me!" I yelled back. "Just admit that you're implying that all of this is my fault."

"I was not!"

The 'call failed' noise came from my phone and I cursed. "I'm going to go stand closer to the road. The signal isn't good down here."

"Fine," she said, leaning against the open hatch of the SUV, crossing her arms tightly.

"Aren't you coming with me?"

"I'll be fine right here."

I blew out a frustrated breath and walked away. Turns out the rental service could offer us a new car for the rest of our trip without much cost - thankfully I'd purchased the insurance with the original car - but with the storm happening, they would have trouble getting out to us. We just needed to get a ride to the nearest town.

I called a cab service and told them our location and then went to check on Cindy. I was the biggest asshole ever. All of her efforts had been lost on me over the years, and I still wasn't being open-minded like I told her I would be.

She was sitting in the same position as I left her, and she looked cold and sad. I sat down next to her. "You okay?"

"The bright side of all this cold is that I can't feel my hand anymore," she said dryly.

I wrapped an arm around her, rubbing her arm to produce some warmth. She didn't protest, actually leaning into me a little. "We may be out here for a little while longer."

"We may be eaten by a pack of wolves."

I chuckled. "Is that better or worse than scorpions?"

"About the same."

Sitting in the back of the car protected us a little bit from the snow, and we sat and waited for the cab to pick us up. Cars passed us by on the highway, driving well under the speed limit. A semi moving much slower than the others came to a stop on the side of the road near us, the hazards turning on a moment later.

"He must think we need help," Cindy said.

I squinted towards the truck and saw a figure walk around the front from the driver's side and down the slight hill towards us. "Oh shit," I said, realizing who it was.

"Well, guess it won't be wolves or scorpions. The psycho trucker is definitely going to do us in."

I begrudgingly stood up, ready for a confrontation. The trucker stopped in front of us, a concerned look on his face. "Hey, I know you two! You're the one who punched me!" He pointed at Cindy. She just gave him a thumbs-up with her injured hand. "And you're the one that ran away like a little girl!"

Cindy snorted and I glared at the trucker. "Why do you keep harassing us?"

"Your girlfriend here dropped a fifty dollar bill in the gas station. And even though she punched me when I tried giving it back, I thought the chances of me seeing you guys again were pretty low. I guess I don't blame you two for running. I look kind of rough when I've been on the road for awhile," he said while scratching the back of his neck.

I glanced at Cindy and she had a sheepish expression on her face. "Sorry about that," she said weakly.

"It's okay, blondie. You've got quite the arm on you," he said while fishing around in his pocket. He produced a fifty dollar bill and handed it to Cindy. "I'm sorry for scaring you."

"It was just a misunderstanding. It's a good thing I didn't punch you, right?" I asked, trying to redeem myself a little.

"Whatever you say, sissy boy."

Cindy full out cackled after that.

The trucker gestured towards our half-buried car. "You guys need some help?"

"That depends. Where are you headed?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

The trucker - whose name was Dennis - was on his way to Denver, but he didn't mind taking a slight detour through Colorado Springs if we needed a ride. We were both eager to get out of the cold and make it to Sheen and Libby's, so we mutually agreed it wasn't _too_ terrible of an idea to catch a ride with a stranger that we'd previously believed was trying to hurt us in order to get where we were going.

As we got our bags out of the car, Cindy whispered a battle plan in my ear. "You distract him, and I'll kick him in the balls. Then we flag another car down while calling 911. It's foolproof as long as I kick him hard enough."

"You don't trust me to punch him, do you?"

"I know it'll never happen."

We had no need to worry though. Riding with Dennis was pleasant enough. He showed us pictures of his daughters and wife along the way. When we were almost to our destination, Cindy called Libby but got no answer. Sheen didn't answer for me either, so I called Carl.

"Hey Jim, where are you?" He asked.

"Almost there now. Is everything okay? Should we go straight to the hospital?"

'Yeah, Libby was admitted a little while ago. I'm in the waiting room right now as she gets checked out. Have you heard from Cindy?"

"Funny story about Cindy. She's with me."

"...there's a funny story that goes along with that?" He asked warily. Cindy caught my eye at the sound of her name and raised a brow.

"Well, it depends on who you ask. But we're fine and we'll explain everything when we get there."

Dennis dropped us off across the street from the hospital, and he waved at us jovially as we thanked him. Cindy tried to give him back the fifty he'd returned, but he refused and took off towards Denver.

"What a nice guy," she commented as we lugged our bags towards the entrance.

"And you were going to kick him in the balls."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Unfortunately, Carl informed us that we had just barely missed the birth of our godson. Once her water had broke, everything had moved along really quickly. "You guys can probably go in now," he said. "You two should really see him first."

"I feel awful," I sighed. "You should probably be the real godfather."

He patted my shoulder sympathetically. "Don't worry about it. You did what you could. I doubt they will be mad."

All of the drama, frustration, and confusion from the past few days melted away as Sheen ushered us into the hospital room Libby as in. Said new mother looked tired but happy and she smiled at us.

"We are so sorry," Cindy said.

"You wouldn't believe what we've been through," I added. Libby just chuckled.

"It's okay, you're both here now. You want to hold him?"

Cindy made herself comfortable on the spacious bed next to Libby and she transferred the dark-skinned, spitting-image-of-his-mother baby into his godmother's arms. I sat in one of the chairs next to the bed and Sheen grinned at me tiredly.

"What should we name him?"

"Definitely not Sheen Jr."

I kept my eye on Cindy as she held the sleeping baby; her face was soft and she probably didn't even realize she was smiling. I didn't know if she'd held many babies in her life but unlike her driving abilities - she was a natural. She looked...happy.

And that was it. The moment I had been waiting on, with bated breath, since I first saw her in the airport. The softer side of Cindy Vortex that told me there was more to her beneath all that bravado. Despite our moments of friendliness over the past few days, I hadn't seen her act like that. Except for the night before when we'd been in bed together, her guard was always up.

Unfortunately, it seemed to be _me_ that had been the one blocking that part of her from coming out all along. Maybe she was right. We were better off staying away from each other.

Sheen nudged me. "I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little ticked off you guys didn't tell us earlier that you were traveling together."

"Yeah, I was nearly sick with worry!" Libby spoke up.

"Maybe you should think twice before you try to trick me next time," Cindy said slightly. She raised her eyes to mine, and I smiled at her. She returned the gesture.

The couple seemed confused. Cindy passed the baby onto me, but she hovered over my shoulder like she didn't want to let the moment go. His eyes fluttered and he yawned, his face crumpling adorably.

"Makes you want one, huh?" Libby asked, and I caught Cindy rolling her eyes before yawning herself. Like a chain reaction, Sheen rubbed his eyes and Libby's eyes were starting to droop.

"We can go get coffee and give you guys some alone time," I offered just as a nurse came in. Cindy and I ducked out of the room.

I immediately went for the elevator, only having caffeine on my mind, but Cindy stalled near the doors.

"What's wrong?"

"I haven't really been honest with you since we ran into each other at the airport," she said.

"You're just now realizing this?"

"Well, it's more than me being vague and avoiding your questions. There's a lot of stuff that's happened in my life recently that's hard to say aloud."

I pulled her away from the elevators and down a short, more deserted hallway. "I'm listening."

"For starters, I wasn't in California for work."

"Then why were you there?"

"I was there with my fiance," she said uncomfortably. "Ex-fiance actually. I broke it off because I was surprising him by visiting him while _he_ was working and he was with another woman. I was already suspicious of him stepping out on me. That's what Libby meant by _rough time_. But she doesn't know I caught him or broke off the engagement. "

"Aw, shit, Cindy. That's awful. I'm sorry," I said earnestly.

"I threw the ring at him and it bounced off him into a koi pond in a hotel lobby. It was pretty dramatic." I laughed, unable to stop myself. She cracked a small smile. "There's more - I actually fucking hate New York City. I don't even really like my job that much."

"Why didn't you just tell me all of this earlier?"

"Because it's _you_!" She said loudly, startling me. "You're pretty much perfect. All that stuff I said about you being boring and vanilla was bullshit, by the way. You're not boring. I know you lead an exciting life doing exactly what you've always dreamed about, and I didn't want to embarrass myself by telling the truth. So I sort of shut myself off to you. Plus, I didn't think you were too interested in hearing about my life anyway after all the other times you wouldn't talk to me."

"I wish I had responded better. All I can do now is hope that you can forgive me and we can start over," I said. "I don't regret the other night, Cindy. Not one bit." She blushed, understanding what I was implying. "And I'm not perfect by any means. A perfect person wouldn't have fucked up so bad."

"A perfect person probably would've made it to Colorado on time," she added. I brushed some of her hair behind her ear and she smiled softly.

"I don't know about you, but I don't want our godson to think his godparents hate each other."

"That's just bad god-parenting," she agreed.

"Maybe we could work something out," I said carefully. "I don't think I'd mind that."

"I wouldn't mind it at all," she whispered just before I kissed her.

When I pulled back, I couldn't resist asking. "What's next for you? If you hate how things are...are you going to try something else?"

She nodded. "I'm moving. I have no idea where to, but I can't stay in New York anymore. It's too painful."

"Understandable. I hear California is very nice this time of year."

She punched me in the arm. "Jimmy Neutron," she scolded playfully. "Are you already asking me to move in with you? We can barely make it ten minutes without yelling at each other."

I pretended to be disgusted by that idea. "Absolutely not," I said. "Just making an observation." I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her back towards the elevators.

"If that's all it is then I will take it in stride."

"I have another one for you: we're getting that hand checked out. Now."

"My hand is fine, Nerdtron."

"Call me Nerdtron _one more time_ -"

Surely Sheen and Libby didn't appreciate that we still bickered during our entire stay in Colorado. I wasn't sure that I blamed them, but that was just how Cindy and I worked. I had a feeling it was going to be that way for a very long time.


End file.
